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Sniff of sickness makes mums prime babies for life

THE odour of disease makes pregnant mice boost their babies’ immunity. It is the first proof that social or environmental cues detected by a pregnant mother can alter traits in its babies.

Female mice are attuned to the odour of male mice as it helps them pick a mate. Olivia Curno of the University of Nottingham, UK, and her team housed pregnant mice next to male mice infected with a parasite. A partition meant the females could smell the males but not come into contact to catch the disease.